


"Tag, You're It."

by FaeriMagic



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, I-chu Cameos, Laser Tag, Mild Language, Original Character(s), Other, POV Second Person, Podfic, Podfic Length: 20-30 Minutes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 10:50:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5663500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaeriMagic/pseuds/FaeriMagic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You've had a bad day. Maybe a game of laser tag will make your worries go away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"Tag, You're It."

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Roimata](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roimata/gifts).



> Reader Name: Roi (Or, alternatively, Roy if that's your name)  
> aaaaAAAHHH, MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY NEW YEAR, ROI!!
> 
> This is so belated, I'm really sorry I made you wait! I originally wanted to show you the fanfiction first before making the audio, but I changed my mind, and that caused me to have to delay this for a few days.
> 
> And it's almost 25 minutes long. ;; u ;; I've never really done this sort of thing before. It was difficult making the audio, but I had fun! 
> 
> I-Chu characters make cameos in this fanfiction because Roi loves their I-chu. :3c I researched their voices, too. Seiya was particularly fun to voice! He has a really lively personality and the contrast between his voice and my regular narration voice is very noticeable. 
> 
> Also, here's the team roster if you need it:  
> Red Team:  
> 5 Matou Chitose (OC)  
> 1 Seiya Aido  
> 2 Mio Yamanobe  
> 7 Yamamoto Taketora  
> 8 Tanaka Ryuunosuke
> 
> Blue Team:  
> 6 Tsukino Hoshino (OC)  
> 3 Akira Mitsurugi  
> 4 Eva Armstrong  
> 9 Tanaka Saeko  
> 10 Reader

You sank down on Yamamoto’s bed, exhausted from your shift at the local coffee shop. You had enough of trying to tell customers the differences between talls and grandes. All you wanted to do was forget the fact that the cursed caffeinated beverages existed as you covered your head with a pillow.

“Oi, can you please stop crashing at my house?” Your childhood friend asked irritably.

“…No?” You responded, your voice muffled by the pillowcase. Barging into Yamamoto’s home was something you often did when you felt down, miserable, or just plain bored. Why feel terrible all by yourself when you could share your pain with your unfortunate friend, after all? But jokes aside, Yamamoto was a friend that you could count on to cheer you up. He was almost like a big brother to you.

Yamamoto sighed. “Well, you can’t stay here. I have to go meet with my bro in thirty minutes.”

You raised the pillow up to look at him in disbelief. “…I thought I was your bro.”

Yamamoto, to put it simply, did not have many close friends. People were often frightened by his intimidating mohawk, and his skittish nature only served to accentuate his unapproachability.  He often interacted with the other members of the volleyball team, but even then it seemed more like the usual kouhai/sempai dynamics.

“Um…you are.” Yamamoto replied before shrugging. “Well, this guy’s from Karasuno and he’s really cool. The team already went back to Miyagi, but apparently he and his sis decided to stay in Tokyo for a few more days.”

You wiped away an imaginary tear. “My Take-chan finally found another friend! I was so worried that I would be the only friend he’d have.”  To be honest, you felt a small sting after realizing that you weren’t his sole friend anymore, but you pushed it aside. After grinning at Yamamoto’s scowl, you continued. “So how’d you guys hit it off? Did you guys have a muscle contest or something?”

“Er, something like that…? Well…” Yamamoto fidgeted as he dug into his pocket for his cellphone. After swiping across his phone a few times, he shyly showed you a picture of a beautiful black-haired beauty. “…We bonded over our attraction to this goddess.”

You snickered as you took the phone. “Goddess? Really?” Okay, you’ll admit it, the girl was hot. But to elevate her to goddess level was a bit extreme in your eyes.

_Call incoming: TanaBro._ Speak of the devil. “Helloooo?” You answered before Yamamoto managed to pry the phone from your fingers.

“ _Bro, my sis insisted on joining with us, is that cool?”_

“Well, yeah, I’m cool, but then that means we have uneven teams.” Yamamoto paused before a thought occurred to him. “Hey, [name], wanna join me and my bro at laser tag?”

You perked up. “Sure! I’m totally in!” It’s been a long time since you’ve done that sort of thing. Besides, you’d do anything to make you forget the miserable day you just had at work.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, you and Yamamoto were waiting in front of the laser tag arena. It was chilly, and the sky above was showing hints of snow. You could see your breath waver and dissipate into the winter air. It wasn’t until you heard rambunctious laughter that you heard the Tanaka duo arrive.

“Woah, now that was some detour! Getting lost in Tokyo is fun!” A blonde-haired woman grinned as she stretched. Her companion, however, looked tired and drained.  “Aw, come on, Ryuu! Don’t tell me you’re tired from the city life already!”

The bald-headed teen looked up, insulted. “As if, nee-san! I’m just tired from you trying to seduce every other guy you meet for directions.” He looked away before muttering under his breath. “And failing.”

The woman, though petite, exuded an air of confidence that you found a bit envious. You glanced over at Yamamoto, who was starting to twitch in nervousness at the female that was approaching him. You rolled your eyes before leaning in to whisper in his ear. “ _Ronald McDonald in a revealing bikini while he…swallows a banana?_ ” You said, trying to think of a scenario that would disrupt Yamamoto’s raging hormones.

And just like that, Yamamoto deflated as a lifeless expression came upon his face. “Why am I friends with you?” He mumbled.

“Hey, are you the one that’s gonna be my teammate?” The woman said suddenly. She cocked her head as she evaluated your physique. “Hmm, not very athletic, are ya? Well, that’s okay! I still think our team’ll win especially if I have someone as cute as you on my team!”

You flushed. “I’m not cute!” You blurted automatically. The woman only laughed good-naturedly while her brother sighed.

“Nee-san…” He complained before turning to introduce himself to you. “Yo, I’m Tanaka Ryuunosuke. Saeko-neesan here’s my sis.”

“[name]. Hi.” You responded. You quickly glanced him over. Yamamoto would already be a challenge to take down, but this guy? This guy was almost like a duplicate copy of Take-chan except…cooler. Like his sibling, he exuberated confidence and strength. You doubt you could beat both him and Yamamoto at once, even if you did have a tough-talking woman on your side.

After Yamamoto paid the admission costs, an employee provided you all with the laser tag equipment and began with the usual safety procedures. The arena was large and dim. There were strangely shaped structures everywhere and many of them exuded a faint neon glow, giving the room a mysterious otherworldly feel to it. Cliffs and crevices lined the walls while paths and stairways allowed movement onto higher ground. The bulky armor that you wore also made the environment feel a bit more space-retro. You pulled the trigger of your gun, your lip quirking up at the pixelated noise of gunfire. There were several other people in the arena already, and they were clearly distinguished by their red or blue equipment.

“So, you’re on our team, huh?” A spry blond said to Yamamoto. “Nice ta meetcha! I’m Seiya Aido, welcome to the Red Team!” He said as he offered a handshake to the boy, which Yamamoto awkwardly returned. “It’s nice that we finally have some muscle on our side!”

“How ‘bout you try not underestimate a girl?” Saeko cockily grinned as she aimed her rifle. “I’ll have you know that I have over 300 wins and I’m one of the best laser taggers you’ll ever see!”

You surveyed the other laser taggers. Altogether, there were ten players, including yourself. You were on the Blue team with Saeko along with three other teens. Saeko’s brother and Yamamoto were on the Red Team with three other boys, one of which was that Seiya Aido. All of its members seemed to have an athletic build, which you thought would be difficult to outmatch. (With the exception of that boy that you heard Seiya refer to as Mio.) You looked at your own team, which was composed of tall but lithe males (plus Saeko, of course) and smiled grimly. You had a faint feeling this game would end badly for you, but you couldn’t help but feel excited. In any case, you’re certain that it would allow all of your earlier miseries to vanish away once you begin to lose yourself in the game.

A voice from a loudspeaker began to speak. “ _Cadets, please get in your positions. The battle will start in three… two… one…_ ”

* * *

It was exhausting. You could feel yourself breaking into a sweat as you weaved around the towering structures.  The electronic music pulsed as you hid behind a wall. Hearing quiet footsteps approach you, you tensed and placed your finger on your trigger.

You quickly spun away from your hiding place and shot the sleepy-looking teen in front of you. His eyes widened in surprised as his armor played the alert that signified his death.

“You shot me.” The boy stated in mild astonishment. His rifle had already been aimed, only a second more and you would have been killed.

“I did.” You replied as you shot him once more after he ‘respawned’, therefore rendering him useless as you took your chance to flee.

You were doing surprisingly well, despite not laser tagging in a while. True, that Mio kid did manage to rack a few kill points off of you, but you tried not to worry about that too much. In the distance, you could hear Saeko laugh as she fired several shots. One of them probably hit Seiya if that frustrated “Dangit, not again!” was any indication.

“ _Player 1 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game.”_

“Aw, man!” Seiya said as his red armor flickered and powered down. You blinked. Now _this_ was new. In the past, the winner would simply be the one who died the least. (Kill points were given according on the area you were shot in: stomach, chest, or back. Since it was fairly easy to sneak up on others, back kills were worth the least.)  Apparently, the management had created a new sort of battle type and from the sound of it, it seems like it was a sort of last man standing type of game.

You tried to remember quickly who had already killed you as you hid behind a crevice. Mio had sniped you many times, while Yamamoto and Tanaka had their share of shots. That other guy you shot previously still hasn’t been able to hit you yet, but with the way you seen him mercilessly aggravate Saeko made him a force you wouldn’t underestimate.

With Seiya out of the game, a sudden realization seemed to take root among the other players and they began to act more rashly, judging from the increased amount of 8-bit gunshots.

“Your end is nigh, Eva-sama!” Mio shouted gleefully.

“How dare you betray me!” You heard Eva reply.

“ _Player 4 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game._ _Player 3 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game.”_

Well shit, there went your advantage in numbers. Seeing as there were only three members of your team left, you decided that regrouping was the best course of action. Climbing down from a ledge, you tried to find your group members in the midst of the chaos.

“Yo, Take-chan!!” A feminine voice taunted. You peered around the corner only to see your fellow teammate standing on top of a small sentry building. Yamamoto paused in his tracks as he glanced up at Saeko. “Mwah!” The woman said as she blew a kiss towards your friend. You snickered as you saw the boy freeze and shake from the air kiss before he was quickly eliminated.

“ _Player 7 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game.”_

“Goddammit, Nee-san!” You heard Tanaka shout. “Stop seducing my friends, that’s gross!”

“Well, I can’t help being beautiful, that’s just the way I am!” Saeko cackled.

“ _Player 9 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game._ ”

“…Eh?” Saeko said as her armor powered down. She whirled around only to find the sleepy blond smirking at her.

“Got you.” The boy said simply before a gunshot startled him.

“ _Player 5 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game.”_

“What the…! Tsukino-san!” The boy said as he realized that his friend had taken him out. The other teen, Tsukino, only shrugged in response.

The game now only had four players left: Mio, Tanaka, Tsukino, and you. You still had doubts about winning since Mio seemed very trigger-happy and you still couldn’t get over your first impression of Tanaka. Your remaining teammate, Tsukino, had already disappeared into the darkness. You crept through the darkness as the speakers blared intense dubstep beats.  

A fast movement caught your eye as you saw Tsukino suddenly appear from the shadows to ambush Mio. You raised your own gun and shot blindly.

“ _Player 6 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game_.” The loudspeaker said as Tsukino’s armor flickered out.

“Trying to sneak up on me?” Mio gleefully smiled before his grin was wiped away by the loudspeaker’s next words.

“ _Player 2 has accumulated 100 kill points. They are now out of the game_.”

“Oops, I didn’t see you there.” Mio chuckled as he realized your presence and let his arms fall down to his sides. “I guess I deserved that.” Only you and Tanaka were still left in the game. You didn’t know what the other players were doing, but a couple of them seemed like they were just waiting for the round to end.

“Bro!” You heard Yamamoto’s voice call out in the darkness. “You’re our last hope! Avenge us!!”

“You got it, bro!” You heard Tanaka respond. Judging from the direction of his voice, you deducted that he was somewhere near the bridges. You quickly made your way to the treehouse structure, only to find Seiya there waiting for you.

“Hey, there!” He grinned before proceeding to shout. “They’re at the treehouse!”

“Shit!” You muttered as you fled. Though Seiya was out of the game, that didn’t mean he couldn’t give hints to your location.

“[Name]-chan!” You heard Saeko call you. “Ryuu’s in the tunnels!”

“GODDAMMIT NEE-SAN, STOP BLOWING MY COVER.”

This went on for several minutes as the two of you tried to avoid each other’s fallen enemies. Mio seemed especially keen on following you, so it took you a while to throw him off your tracks. At one point, you saw Sleepy Dude and Tsukino just chilling on a bench, and felt irritated that the game was still on. You couldn’t believe how hard it was to find this muscle boy, even if you did receive hints from your fellow teammates. The players were starting to get frustrated with how long it was taking, judging from their annoyed hints of Tanaka’s whereabouts.

“He’s on the cliffs!”

“He’s in the charging station!”

“He’s at the water fountain!”

“That’s it, I’ve had it!” You huffed as you decided to take a break in a hidden corner. You wished you were able to reach the water fountain yourself, but the area was littered with Red players and you doubted you could sneak in unnoticed. You took a few seconds to catch your breath.

“Do we still have a visual on the Red player?” You heard Eva ask.

“Wait, what? I swear I saw him behind this boulder!”

“Are you telling me he just up and disappeared?”

“I’m telling you I don’t know where he went!”

You tensed as you gripped your gun. Somehow, Tanaka was able to throw off his pursuers, which meant that he could be anywhere at this point. You needed to stay on your guard if you didn’t want to be hit by a surprise attack.

You heard rapid footsteps. Someone was approaching quickly and you pushed down your urge to flee. It would be dangerous to be noticed at this point; the best course of action was to stay in place and hope that they would pass by your spot without noticing you. You pressed yourself against the rock wall and tried to make yourself as discreet as possible in the shadows.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the person had the same idea because the next thing you felt was pain as they whipped around the corner and collided into you. The both of you cursed as you toppled onto the ground, their weight pressing into the barrel of your gun which in turned pressed into your chest. Your head was pounding from the impact on the ground and from the person above you.

They slowly shifted themselves up and you realized the pressure that was on your lips had disappeared. You blinked, your eyes cross-eyed as you struggled to comprehend what just happened.

“Ow…” The boy on top of you muttered as he peered down on you. “Sorry about…” His face flushed as an expression of realization appeared on his face. “I’M EXTREMELY SORRY!!” He said as he got up and immediately prostrated onto the ground.

You propped yourself up, massaging your chest in pain. “Wait a minute...” You said slowly. “Did we…kiss?”

Tanaka’s ears reddened as the loudspeaker started to speak once more.

“ _Player 8 has been eliminated. The Blue team has won this battle. Congratulations, players. Please return to the starting point if you wish to return your equipment.”_

The lights of the arena slowly flickered on, and you squinted in the bright light. Apparently, you managed to shoot Tanaka in the collision. With your minor injuries, though, you weren’t sure if the win was really worth it.

“I’m really sorry for um…k-kissing you. I didn’t know you were here.” Tanaka said as he scratched his head in embarrassment before offering his hand to help pull you up. You took it.

“No worries!” You replied as you dusted yourself off. To be honest, the kiss felt…nice. True, it was painful due to the fact that you hit your noggin, but when the accidental kiss was over, you felt a bit let down that it ended so soon. You tried to laugh and smile. “It’s an accident anyone would make. Besides, it makes for a funny first kiss story for me.”

“ _Round 2 will begin in five minutes.”_ The loudspeaker said. Deciding not to play anymore, you removed your armor and began walking back to the starting point. As you exited the arena, you heard your teammates and friends congratulate each other on the Blue team’s win. The muffled arena music played in the distance, but in the main lobby, things were pretty much quiet except for the soft bleeps of the arcade games.

“Are you not going to participate in the round?” The counter girl asked you.

“Nah, I think I’m done for today.” You said as you handed her your equipment. “Can I have a medium Dr. Pepper?”

The girl blinked. “Sure.” She said as she handed you your order as you struggled to push down a grin. After paying for your order you sat down at a table, and idly began passing the time playing idol games on your phone. Your head didn’t hurt that bad, but the ache was still there and you wanted to take some time to rest.

It was a few minutes later when you heard a voice address you. “Hey.”

You looked up. “Tanaka?”

“Um, I just wanted to know if you were alright.” He said quietly. “Is it alright if I sit down?”

“…Sure?” You said as you put away your phone. “But I’m fine, really.”

 “But… augh, I feel so terrible!” Tanaka said as he sank down onto the table. “That was your first kiss!”

“Like I said, it wasn’t all that bad so don’t worry about it.” You said, as you tried to convince him that it wasn’t a big deal. In truth, it was kind of a big deal. A first kiss only happens once, after all.

Tanaka eyed you. “What do you mean when you say that it wasn’t all that bad?” He asked, confused.

Shit, you shouldn’t have said that. “Well, what I mean is…uh…” You stuttered. “Well, it was…actually…kind of…nice?” You felt your face heat up as you waited for him to react. The kiss was hard and forceful due to his falling momentum, but when he pulled away a lingering softness stayed on your lips. It was that particular quality that made your heart momentarily skip a bit.

“…Oh.” Tanaka said.

You twitched. Oh? _Oh?_ “I’m sorry, did you not like kissing me?”

“Huh, no that’s not what I—”

“Was my lips not _soft_ enough for you? Was it the fact that I wasn’t wearing _tasty_ lip gloss? You do _know_ I don’t have experience, _right_? Not _everyone_ can be as _handsome_ as you and have others lining up to kiss you.” The two of you sat there as you stared at each other with flushed faces. Tanaka had a surprised look on his face while you looked comically furious. Actually, you felt insulted. That was your first kiss and all he had to say about it was ‘Oh.’

“No, you got it wrong!” Tanaka flustered. “That was my first kiss as well and…well…I liked it.”

“…Oh.” You said. Well. Now, you were certainly embarrassed beyond belief. What was that you said? Oh yeah, you called him handsome. Shit. You couldn’t even bring yourself to look him in his eyes, so you took a sip of your Dr. Pepper as an attempt to look busy.

“Let’s have a redo!” He said. You blinked in surprise. Well, this wasn’t what you expected him to say. “I…I want a redo. Is that alright?” Tanaka asked. His face was as red as a tomato and you were sure your face was the same shade.

“Sure.” You try to say nonchalantly. “If you really want to.” You convinced yourself that you were just doing this to make up for his train wreck of a first kiss. That’s all. You were just being nice. Yeah. You leaned in, and gave him a quick peck on his lips before pulling away.

Or…at least you tried to. Once you tried to break away, you felt gentle hands clasp your head while hesitant lips touched yours once more. This kiss was longer. Tender. Sweeter. For a second you completely forgot that you were there. You forgot the fact that dubstep was still playing in the distant arena. You forgot that that clerk girl was still at her counter several yards away. The bleeping arcade noises faded away as you continued to close your eyes.

Finally, finally, you broke away and looked up at Tanaka. Out of breath, faces flushed, you glanced at each other and bashful grins grew on your faces. You saw sparkles in his eyes as tiny dotted shadows slowly floated down his face.

You looked out the window.

“Hey,” You smiled and whispered. “It’s snowing.”

**Author's Note:**

> …To put it simply, I really got carried away while writing this Christmas present. It’s not very Christmas-related, sorry. I wanted to write something for Tanaka, but I needed a good idea. Then I thought, heyyy what about laser tag? Tanaka seems like a laser tag kind of person. And then this happened. During the process of writing this, I uh, I got really distracted by Candy Crush. I am upset about the fact that I’m addicted to it. Why, Faeri. Why don’t you love yourself? D;;
> 
> I was going to write that Tanaka was taller than Yamamoto before I realized that Tanaka’s only, like, a single centimeter taller than him, lol.  
> Trivia: When Yamamoto received Saeko’s air kiss, he tried to bring back the scarring image of Ronald McDonald in his mind. It didn’t work. :’(  
> Yes, I did try sneaking in the Navy Seals meme. Saeko is meme trash, but she classy. Bokuro has nothing on her. B) I imagine that Tanaka is the straight man when paired with Saeko. Tanaka is a goofball, yes, but Saeko is just utter chaos.  
> Touching and grabbing is forbidden in this laser tag venue. Those kinds of things are kind of dangerous when you’re filled in a room full of competitive players.
> 
> Tsukino and Matou were our OCs from May 2015. We haven't really done much with them since the both of us became busy in our own lives, but I don't mind! They're still my babies, though, and it seemed like a good idea to cameo them in here!
> 
> The Dr. Pepper thing: Not many people like Dr. Pepper in Japan. They often complain that it tastes like medicine. I remember reading somewhere that you’re masochistic if you drink Dr. Pepper.  
> ;;; DDD
> 
> Blooper Reel: https://soundcloud.com/faerimagic/tag-youre-it-bloopers
> 
> Also, here's a final snippet that didn't make it into the finished version, but I still like it:  
> Tanaka widened his eyes before looking away. “You’re so cute..!” He quietly said.  
> “…No, I’m not!” You immediately replied, feeling a bit annoyed. In what way were you considered cute?? It kind of aggravated you. You were the most uncute person ever, probably. As you stared at the boy in front of you, you felt an intense need to angrily squish his adorable cheeks. “You’re the one who’s fucking cute!” You retorted.


End file.
